The End of Writing as we know it?

Has cursive writing reached its Use By date? This article was on the ABC News recently:

The whole article is a good read (click on the quote above) particularly her point that writing is still teaching skills more related to fountain pens than ballpoints for example.

Do you think keyboarding is more important than writing skills?

We have discussed letter writing elsewhere and personally I rarely hand write anything except Christmas and Birthday cards so has the time come for schools to abandon cursive writing as a waste of valuable teaching time? Let those who enjoy handwriting learn calligraphy as a hobby perhaps?

BTW I was very tempted to put this in the 'Gone but not Forgotten" message board.

Re: The End of Writing as we know it?

Cant see why both cant be taught in schools Bruce. Just tools that are available in todays world.

Re: The End of Writing as we know it?

Typing is a great skill to acquire, especially so in this day and age. To touch type (as I do) is a great asset and I can bang out many words per minute but it takes a lot of practice and you also need to be shown how.

I very rarely use longhand come to think of it. I might sign something now and then but that is about it.

Re: The End of Writing as we know it?

I personally think that it's terribly important to maintain the foundation skills, as they are a basic toolkit that stays with you for life. to be able to write and to be able to perform mental arithmetic are skills which should never be denied to our children, just to make life easier for the education establishment.

Re: The End of Writing as we know it?

I don't think placing the emphasis on typing skill as opposed to longhand writing skill is in the same ball park as allowing children to use a calculator as opposed to working mathematical problems out for themselves. They still have to know how to form sentences - spell and so on. The only benefit I can see from making children use longhand all the time is that there could be an improvement in their actual writing - as in making it more eligible. I'm sure both could be taught and would give the child an additional (and very useful) extra string to their bow.

Re: The End of Writing as we know it?

Writing is useful, one day a person may need to write HELP on a scrap of paper, and stick it in a bottle, in the event of the System going down.

Re: The End of Writing as we know it?

Hang on! They are not proposing to abandon teaching writing just cursive writing.

You will still be able to print - H E L P

Re: The End of Writing as we know it?

That's OK then.

Re: The End of Writing as we know it?

Yeah but will anyone be able to read it?

Re: The End of Writing as we know it?

Will anyone care?